Signs of Heroin Use: What a Person Should Look For

Heroin is probably best known for being injected with a needle into the bloodstream, but it can also be snorted and smoked.

This narcotic painkiller is one of the more addictive drugs due to the extremely short amount of time it takes to enter the brain. Injections get the drug into the brain the quickest, but snorting and smoking the drug also have rapid results.

The drug is particularly dangerous because its purity is always in question, leaving the user to guess how much of the drug can result in a high and how much can result in a fatal overdose.

Street names for heroin include black tar, smack, dirt, diesel, red rock, white junk, salt and brown sugar, depending on the heroin’s color and consistency. It can range from black to white and come in as a powder, rock or crystal formation.

Signs of Heroin Use

Knowing the signs of heroin use is a critical first step to determine if someone you know is abusing drugs. The “heroin chic” trend of the 1990s provided a good indication of what a heroin user can look like. The fashionable trend featured dark circles beneath the eyes, pasty white skin and an overall gaunt and angular appearance. Heroin users often end up looking that way without trying to be chic but rather from suffering of the ill effects of the drug.

How Heroin Works

As heroin speeds its way to the brain, users receive a powerful rush of pleasure along with a dry mouth and flushed skin. The user’s arms and legs can begin to feel extremely weighty and difficult to move.

It’s not uncommon for an injection of heroin to induce vomiting or cause nausea and an extreme itchiness to the entire body. Once the first rush of pleasure subsides, heroin users typically become sluggish, drowsy and unable to think or function with clarity, if at all. Their heart rate and breathing slow down and they may assume the pose known as the heroin nod.

The head slumps forward toward the chest as if the weight of the skull is just too much for the neck to handle and supportive structures have turned to jelly.

Heroin Users Also Experience These Symptoms

constipation

depression

decreased sensitivity, especially to pain

The effects can last for several hours. Needle marks up and down the arm can be a telltale sign of heroin use, although users can inject the drug anywhere they can access a vein. This includes a host of less-obvious locations such as on the feet or between the toes.

Long-Term Effects

If a heroin user crosses the line into a heroin abuse and addiction, long-term use of the drug takes its toll in a number of other ways.

A gaunt, starving appearance can be accompanied by collapsed veins as well as infections in the needle sores and heart valves and lining.

Liver or kidney disease is not uncommon with long-term heroin abuse. Because the drug slows down respiratory functions, pneumonia is another common ailment that can strike the already weak body of the drug abuser.

HIV is always a threat when heroin users share needles, as are hepatitis and other blood-borne infectious diseases.

Deaths from heroin overdose is a huge problem in the united states as you can see from the illustration below.

The Terrible Truth

Due to any number of uncontrolled, toxic substances that can be mixed with the drug, other health problems frequently arise. These can include blood clots, brain damage, irrevocable destruction to other vital organs and the ever-present looming threat of death. “Brain damage” and “Dead on arrival” are two more street terms for the drug. Heroin abuse has even resulted in spontaneous abortions.

Contact Delray Recovery Center Today

If you or someone you care for is currently caught up in the destructive grip of addiction, please seek the help of Delray Recovery Center. We are an addiction treatment provider that understands the struggle. We know the suffering of the addict and the heartache of the families involved.

Call us today at the toll free number above. If you are fearful of voicing the problem, please simply fill out our Contact Form. Any measure of contact is a step in the right direction.

21 Comments

Hi I am afraid my daughter may be involved with heroin and I dont know much about it, as well as I havent seen her in 66morning months so I have no idea of the way she looks I am scared for her and heartbroken and dont know how to help her

Tonia, My daughter is a heroin addict. I knew she was either going to prison or end up dead. The saddest thing is she has a six year old daughter. She got arrested and she spent a year in prison and was released in December. She is on parole for a year but I am afraid she may be using again. My heart is still breaking because I want to trust her but signs are there.If you havent seen her and there is no reason for you not to and you saw signs previous its likely she is using or some other drug. Unfortunetly there is not much you can do because she has to want to do it and with the nature of the drug even if they want to quit it is hard. Let her know you support her if she chooses to go for treatment. Prayers for you and your daughter!!!

I am pretty much positive my daughters father is using heroin. He displayed the nod symptom. He was also hallucinating as he didn’t know the difference between dream state vs being awake. He was moving VERY slowly while nodding out and was doing STRANGE things. I found codeine in his stuff but I also found a small belt that wouldn’t fit him and came home to the house smelling strange…like ammonia or something. When I left for work he looked fine, however, when I came home his pupils were constricted and he looked like his face sunk in….all within 7 hours. I don’t think codeine can cause these symptoms can they?

Lotus., it is possible that codeine would constrict the pupils but all opiates do this.. As far as the smell, Heroin has a vinegar smell to it. So yes if he was smoking it, It would most likely be heroin, all of the symptoms you described are symptoms of heroin

My boyfriend is a recovering addict. He has had small relapses that he has told me about after. He currantly is going to meeting or he tells me he is, im not sure now. I haven’t seen track marks on him. But I have an odd feeling and his pupils were constricted a few times lately. I want to believe in him. I immediately confronted him and he claims he is still clean. I don’t want to be overly suspicious but I also will not be enabling. I have told him that if he uses we are done unless he goes into a rehab. I am also an addict not heroin tho. I’m 3 1/2 year clean any advice about how I can tell if he is high? My addiction was a pain killer I was on for 9 years and got dependent on it. I don’t know how to recognize the signs in someone

April 15, 2013 I lost my son to heroine use he just started using it had only shot up 2 times the 3rd time got him. He started out with heroine that wasn’t the pure stuff the last he had was the pure heroine and you didn’t to use as much as you did with the other heroine and he injected just a small amount and then he was gone. He fell in the out building broke his nose and the bone in his nose went straight to his brain this happened on April 15 between the hours of 9pm and midnight and was not found until 230 pm on the 16th. To loose a child is the worst pain you will ever suffer through but to know you have lost your only son to heroine use makes the hurt 100 times harder. No matter what you say or do there is nothing you can do Michael was 30yrs young and had a long life ahead of him he was to bury me before I buried him. R.I.P. my son. You are now free of the evils of this world and your favorite song was Free Bird so I guess you are the free bird now.
.Not one of his dope head so called friends showed up to his services.

That sounds very familiar to how my 24 year old son died, two weeks ago. Heroin is undeniably the precipitating cause, but no autopsy, so it cannot be confirmed. The grief is suffocating, I worry more for his mom.

Ms Shaffer, I really feel for you and i can understand exactly how you feel. I lost my only son also, He was only 23.. He had broken his back prior to his death and did not have a addiction to pain pills but needed one here and there when needed. He was out of his own and went to work and one of his customers sold him a couple so called light pain pills. They were moraphine. my son took them before he went to bed and never woke up. Oh my gosh the pain and hurt never goes away.I havent ever been the same sense his death i miss him so much. Its been three years and i still cry. All i can say is i am sorry for your loss and i really mean that when i sy it. I think the hardest part is when someone who has not been there tells you how sorry they are about your loss . It makes me sick when i hear it. There not sorry they dont have a clue about how much it jhurts hang in there and i would like to say it gets easier but i am beginning to think it never will’ God bless you…..

My daughter is a, herion addicted she lives on the street she is 29 has two children witch the dad has custody I found her today I told her she needs help she has a huge knot on her neck I know it’s from shooting up she never tells the truth she is going to die what can I do It kills me watching her she has done this along time all rehabs want alot of money she has none she has gone to a state one that’s only a week she has been there twice she is getting worst she looks horrible

We know how painful and difficult this is for you and your family. We hope she agrees to go to treatment again and commits to recovery. Have you tried getting help and support for yourself? We recommend attending an Al-Anon meeting. There you can meet people who are going through exactly what you’re going through. They can provide support, resources, and tips on how to cope with this terrible disease.

As of today my brother called and said he writes me off. because I know about my niece doing Heroin. And he said that I have been telling people. Which I haven’t said anything to anyone. But his wife. My Niece needs help. She has changed so much. She is mean and don’t care who she hurts. I am in concerned of her doing something stupid. Any advice in need of help for her. Thank you

I’m sending prayers out to all who have someone they love struggling from addiction. I have recently discovered that my boyfriend of 2 years is addicted to herion.. He’s been in and out of rehab and detox attempting to stay clean. As of now he’s searching for a 21 day program to help get him clean and back on his feet but in the mean time he’s struggling to manage his addiction. He’s been attending Meetings and making an effort to stay clean but there have been signs of usage. Ive never been with anyone who was addicted to drugs so it’s difficult to have trust for him anymore. I don’t know how to talk to him about It or what to say for that matter because I’ve never been in his position. If anyone has any advise or kind words it would be greatly appreciated!

Marissa. My girlfriend overdosed 5 months ago. I regret most, not taking her away from triggers. I recommend a vacation. If you really love your partner, please gather some funds, and go for a vacation. If he is still physically suffering, offer detox before vacation. My sincerest recommendation. Best of love. Good luck.

I also have a boyfriend that struggles with addiction. He abuses crack and herion. I’ve never been in a relationship with an addict and I don’t use drugs so it’s hard for me to undrstand the need to get high. He recently went on a binge and I kicked him out of my home for 3 weeks but he has been back a few days now and I feel like he is using herion or crack again but he denies it. My problem is I can’t prove it because he is so aware that I am looking that he isn’t as careless as he has been in the past. However he is either up and moving nonstop or he is sleeping for days so I know he is using something. When I confront him he gets verbally abusive and denies he is using. I know I should leave him but I love him. How can I help him????

It’s sad to say but there’s nothing you can do…….he’s the one that’s has to make that decision. My son is an addict and I’ve been dealing with this for 15 years……..he has been in and out of prison……he told me once that getting off herion and the withdrawals is the easy part……it’s staying off of it is the hard part. It’s taken me a long time for tough love but I’m finally there. I love my son dearly, but I cannot continue to live with his addiction and what goes with it……lies, stealing, continuous problems……my only suggestion is let him know you support him IF he seeks help……but if he doesn’t you do not want him in your life…….trust me if he doesn’t get help……he will make your life miserable and exhausting.

Well it depends on the person and how long they have been doing, some new users can hardly stay awake off just a little, addicts can control it to the point of if they dont want you to know you wont know bottom line what a f”n joke